Garlic, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crostinis
Serve up these tasty crostinis, topped with delicious goat cheese at your awards viewing party. These deluxe appetizers will make your guests feel as though they are really living the lives of the rich and famous at the event themselves.

Ingredients:

28 slices of French baguette, 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 pound small white mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed

8 cloves of garlic, roasted

2 large shallots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Crumbled soft goat cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions
To make the crostinis, preheat your broiler and brush each side of the baguette slice with olive oil. Roast under broiler, turning once during cooking, until slices are crispy and lightly browned. In your slow cooker, combine white wine, mushrooms, roasted garlic, shallots and olive oil. Cover the device and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, until mushrooms are soft. Drain off liquid and place the mixture in a food processor. Add parsley and pulse until it is finely chopped, but not pureed. Then add in cream, vinegar, salt and pepper and pulse about 3 times to combine. Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Spread the mixture on each crostini and then sprinkle with goat cheese. Bake until the cheese just begins to brown and melt. Serve on a party platter and enjoy!

Crostinis make for a classy, bite-size appetizer.

Bourbon Cocktail Sausages
Calling for just five ingredients, this savory appetizer recipe is simple to make and sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Simply gather the ingredients, turn on your slow cooker and use award season-festive toothpicks for serving.

Ingredients:

1 pound smoked sausage, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch slices

1/3 cup bourbon

1 bottle chili sauce, 12 ounces

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons grated onion.

Directions
Cook sausage slices over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until fully browned. Drain on a paper towel. In your slow cooker, after coating with cooking spray, mix the bourbon, chili sauce, brown sugar and onion. Add sausage pieces and stir to coat. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve with small party napkins.

You can jazz up Brie cheese with almost anything, but pears and pistachios are truly great.

Cherry-Pistachio Brie
You'll really wow your guests with this one-of-a-kind take on Brie cheese. The sweetness of the cherry and the nutty flavors of the pistachios really balance out the brie, blending to create the perfect flavor.

Ingredients:

2 eight-ounce rounds Brie

1/2 cup dried cherries, snipped

1/4 cup cherry preserves

1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy (optional)

1/2 cup pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped

Crackers or pear slices.

Directions
In a bowl, combine the cherries, preserves and brandy if desired. In your slow cooker, place each round of Brie at the bottom and dollop half of the cherry mixture on top of each piece of cheese. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours until the cheese is soft, but not melted. Transfer Brie to a serving platter and sprinkle with crushed pistachios. Serve with crackers or sliced peaches for guests to enjoy.

Due to the slow ramp up, and even heating of a slow cooker, recipes featured on this site can be cooked in a range of slow cooker sizes. Recipes can be increased or decreased by one quart size per the cooking instructions. For smaller sauces and dips that calls for 3 quarts or less, it is not recommended to alter the unit size. Crock-Pot® is a registered trademark and should not be used generically when referring to a 'slow cooker' within the recipes.

Sunbeam Products, Inc. d/b/a Jarden Consumer Solutions has not tested these recipes and is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe. You may not achieve the results desired due to variations in ingredients, cooking temperatures, cooking times, typos, errors, omissions, or individual cooking abilities. Please always use your best judgment when cooking with raw ingredients such as eggs, chicken or fish.